Tails' Jobs
by FanOfGames16
Summary: Even for a sidekick hero, Tails still needs to pay for the things he needs for his inventions. And how does he do this? Why, by working, of course! Follow Miles Prower in his adventures, and many jobs, of the labor he's forced to go through.
1. Cashier

Tails idly stands behind the cash register, drawing the blueprints for his next invention. His mind wanders as he works, mostly to how long he needs to work here to get the sufficient amount of money for his project. He also questions whether or not he can use his title as a hero to get some free parts, but decided against it, concluding that it was immoral. These thoughts lead to him to ask why he even thinks of them. He assumes it must be due to the boredom. After all, you can only work when there are customers, and the fast-food restaurant he works at now is empty, not counting the employees. A ring catches Tails' ears. He places his materials aside, puts on a smile, and says, "Welcome! May I take your order?"

"Usual Tails," says the fox's best friend, Sonic.

"First one here like always," Tails comments. "Well, you know the drill. Three hundred fifty rings." Sonic takes out the large amount from... somewhere and gives them to Tails. He places the rings in the register, then turns around. "Guys! Sonic just ordered!"

"On it!" Comes a reply. Tails nods and goes to the soda machine.

"So, what are you going to do after you're done eating?" He asks as he grabs a cup.

"Dunno. Maybe go for a run. Weather's good for either," Sonic answers. "Who knows. Maybe Baldy McNosehair will decide to show up again with some plans of his own."

"I hope not," Tails tells him as he hands Sonic his drink. "Lost time equals less pay. Parts don't come cheap, you know?"

"I get it. I wouldn't want Eggman around either."

"Order's ready!" Comes a shout from the back.

"I'll be right back." Tails says to Sonic. The fox disappears into the kitchen, and comes back seconds later with a bag in hand. "Enjoy! Come back soon!"

"Gotta say that every time?" Sonic questions as he takes his food.

"Yes. It's standard protocol." Sonic nods and takes out his Chili Dog. He takes a bite.

"Delicious as ever," He compliments with a smile. "Nice job, Shadow!"

"Shut up!" A monotone yell responds back.

"Still paying rent for Rouge?" Sonic snickers.

"Go away!" The blue hedgehog chuckles harder, and continues to do so when he leaves the restaurant. Tails, meanwhile, gets back to his blueprints and resumes his plans. After some time, with few more customers showing up here and there, Sonic returns.

"Back again? You're usually not here for seconds." Tails says.

"Egghead's at it again." Sonic announces with a sigh. Tails does the same.

"Boss! Evacuate the restaurant!" With those words, Tails runs out the establishment with Sonic.

* * *

"It's a good thing the restaurant was evacuated." Sonic comments as he stares at the destroyed fast-food place with Tails and Shadow. "Ya' think Eggman hit this place purposely? This is the only ruined thing in the city."

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Tails answers. "I'm out of a job, and Boss gave me a stern talking-to."

"Good going," Shadow tells Sonic, glaring as he does so. Sonic, with a sheepish smile, scratches his head. Shadow just groans and leaves the duo.

Tails sighs once more. "Where can I find some work now?"


	2. Lifeguard

Tails thanks that the lifeguard tower is tall enough to prevent himself from getting wet. That would not be good when he's reading his engineering manual. Sure he read the thing seventeen times, but he has to keep himself occupied somehow. That does not mean he disregards his lifeguard duties though.

"Hey! You two! Stop running!" Tails commanded at two kids.

"Oh. Sorry!"

"Okay Tails!" The children continue their play, with Tails reading again. He then notices a girl in a diving position.

"No diving allowed Miss!" He shouts. She gets dejected, then unenthusiastically slips into the pool slowly. Tails saddens a bit as well at the scene.

"Keep it together Tails," he tells himself. "This is part of the job. I can't let my feelings get in the way." Right when says this, a teenage boy at the deep end catches his eyes, who is sporting a mischievous smile. He takes a few steps back. Tails' eyes widen. "Wait! You can't do-" A huge splash results from the boy's cannonball, the water hitting every person within the vicinity of the aqueous blast. "-that." The teen surfaces, still smiling. His friends swim to him and they all share a laugh. Tails grins himself as he witness's the group of companions having fun. "Hey!" He calls for the teen's attention. "No jumping in," he tells the kid, his grin not disappearing. The boy understands and nods.

"The people here sure are lively," Amy comments below Tails.

"Yeah," the fox whispers. He drops down the tower and lands beside Amy, who's in a swimsuit and wearing a shoulder bag. "So, you felt like relaxing today?"

"Yep!" Amy winks. "Sonic is out doing his things and Cream is grocery shopping with Ms. Vaniila, which takes a while. So I thought I, why not hit the pool?"

"I got it," Tails answers. He then points to her. "You still have to follow the rules though. No exceptions."

"Don't think I don't know that," Amy tells him. "I won't cause trouble, so don't worry." She goes to one of the chair, sets her bag down, and prepares for a sun tan. Tails goes back to his own duties and flies back up the lifeguard tower. Instead of going back to his reading, he merely observes the scene of the community pool. Little kids at the short end are having water fights with their family members. Friends in the center are timing each other in holding breaths. The group of teens earlier at the deep end are throwing a beach ball back and forth. Kids with their parents are in line at the snack bar. Others are tanning like Amy, who is now lying down wearing sunglasses. Tails smiles a bright smile, closes his eyes, and sighs in content.

It disappears when he hears screams. He sees everyone running out of the pool, fear present on their faces as they sprint madly out the building. He turns to his side and finds Amy still there, her hand around her mouth and eyes as wide as they can be. He jumps off the lifeguard tower and runs towards her. "Amy! What's going on!? Is there an Eggman attack!? I didn't hear anything if there was one!" Tails frantically questions the pink hedgehog. Amy, however, just stands there with the same pose. Horror-stricken and now quivering uncontrollably, looking as if she's seen the greatest terror ever known. Tails grabs her shoulders and shakes forcefully. "Amy, tell me what's happening!?"

"Th-Th-Th-Th-The p-p-pool..." Amy stutters.

"What about the pool?" Tails demands.

"L-Look," Amy mumbles. Tails does as she says. He scans the pool. He raises an eyebrow, not noting anything wrong. The crystal clear waters are fine. The deep end has nothing eye-catching enough for Amy's expression. The stairs built at the small end doesn't look bad. The brown trail in the center leading to the stairs is-

Tails goes into the same position as Amy, and a great urge to vomit fills his mind. In fact, he runs out as well, rushes to the restroom, and explodes in the toilet.

After a seemingly large amount of time, Tails finally leaves, looking pale and clutching his stomach. He hears another presence. He turns to see Amy leaving the women's restroom, looking just as white in the face as the fox. Tails turns to the other side when he hears another presence, or rather many of them. He sees a team of people dressed in yellow suits marching inside the room where the pool is located. Only one thought comes to Tails' mind though, being that this place will be closed for a while, meaning he won't come back here for any lifeguard duties anytime soon. "At least no one drowned," Amy attempts to lighten the mood. Tails sighs, not one of content this time.

"Where can I find some work now?"


	3. Detective

'_This is boring_,' Tails thinks. The Chaotix deprived Tails the of being able to bring his blueprints and tools here at their agency. '_Vector said that he didn't want the place to be mess. I can understand that, but I didn't know it'll be this dull around here._' The fox is sitting in a chair, his Rubik's Cube tossed aside after solving the thing ninety-four times. He looks around the agency to watch the rest of his partners performing their activities. Vector the Crocodile is bobbing his head to whatever music his headphones are playing. Beside Tails on the floor is Espio the Chameleon, eyes closed and meditating. Charmy the Bee isn't around the room, but Tails knows he's the room in the back, most likely napping since he had not heard the bug for a while. '_Boredom must've gotten to him too._' Tails picks up his cube again, but throws in the air and catching it over and over. His mind drifts off to how he came to acquire this occupation.

* * *

**1 month ago**

_After that incident during his time as a lifeguard, Tails found himself stumped. He frequently took walks around the city, but no place was hiring at those moments. He was often at home, creating plans for his next projects, but never building any of them due to his lack of materials. Once he saw that his supply of Rings and food was incredibly low..._

_"Oh no!" Tails cried. "This isn't good! I gotta get a job, and fast!" With those words, Tails ran out his house and into the city. He checked every single corner, every single street and avenue for that one place with the 'Now Hiring' sign. The more buildings and establishments he checked, the more he started to sweat and the more his breathing increased. All of the places he checked still were not hiring! He still searched in, grasping onto that sliver of hope that he could find a place and that he could get some type of work._

_Despite his efforts, the fox couldn't find a single place. He gave up, resulting in him lying down on a park bench, a deep, sorrowful frown plastered on his mouth. So, he just closed his eyes, hoping that his little nightmare situation was just that. A nightmare._

_Sadly, when he was woken up by a familiar-looking bee, he was still lacking a profession. "Something wrong, Tails?" Charmy asks him. Tails shamefully explains his predicament, Charmy only half listening to the story. He got the gist of it though. "So, you need a job, huh?" Tails nods gloomily. "I think I can ask Vector for you. He might take you under his wing as a Detective. Wait, he doesn't have wings. But that is just a figure of speech..." Tails ignored the now rambling bee. His eyes shined with hope again, and the smile returned to him._

_He waited the next day, wishing for some news from the Chaotix Detective Agency. Soon, he did indeed got his news when the trio arrived at his door. True to his word, Charmy asked Vector, and the crocodile whole-heartedly agreed, saying that Tails' intelligence can really help them. Tails smiled, and he was hired as a Detective._

* * *

Tails stops playing with his little toy the instant his memory ends. '_One month. No Rings earned. I'm grateful that the Chaotix lend me some Rings from their past cases for food, but I haven't made any progress with my plans._' He scans the room again, and everyone is still doing the same thing. Soon, he spots a piece of paper and a pen on the desk Vector sat beside. Tails walks over to it, grabs them, and writes down his resignation. He places the paper at Vector's desk, and walks out the door leading out of the Chaotix Detective Agency. "Farewell, Tails." Espio whispers when said fox is gone. Tails flies off from his now former workplace, with a morose sigh escaping. Tails reaches his home, and at that moment, a client knocks on the door of the Chaotix headquarters.

"Where can I find some work now?"


	4. Bartender

"I feel kinda bad for the last bartender," Tails thinks aloud as he cleans the wine glass in his hand. "but I have my own troubles too." He finishes cleaning the glass, examines it closely for any spots he may have missed, and puts it away when he finds none. Tails moves onto the next glass, scrubbing it thoroughly with the small towel in his hand. "I wonder he lost his job though."

"Fired him," Rouge, the owner of Club Rouge, tells the fox. Tails turns his head to find the (sweating) bat exit the fighting arena. "I'm going to spare you the details though. I'm not sadistic enough to corrupt the minds of children."

"That's...good?" Tails responds. Although in his mind, he has a few ideas of what may have happened. His intelligence greatly exceeds that of a regular 8-year-old. "By the way, Rouge? May I ask a question."

"Shoot Fox-Boy." Rouge says as she grabs a sports drink from a nearby fridge.

"Why did you open up a bar here? A fighting arena?" Tails finishes the glass in his hand and moves onto the next. Rouge takes said glass as she drinks her beverage.

"It's called Club Rouge, kid. It has to resemble that somehow, and what better way than to open up a bar?" Rouge answers while inspecting the glass.

"Makes sense, I guess."

"You missed a spot." She hands the glass back to the fox. "Better work harder, kid. Wouldn't want to lose your job on the first day." Tails nods and continues his task. As he works, his eyes wander the club. The bar is near the entrance of the place. There's plenty of equipment around the area for simply working out. Then there's the fighting arena, Club Rouge's main attraction, in the back. '_I think Rouge said she charges 100 for 10 minutes,_' Tails recalls. '_Wait, I can't focus on that. What are the prices here at this bar again?_' He struggles to remember the prices for the various beverages around him while cleaning glasses. His focus breaks when a bell chimes throughout the club. He turns to face-

"EGGMAN!?"

"TAILS!?" At the sight of the doctor, Tails accidentally flings the wine glass in the air. The fox's focus returns to the glass, the more important matter, and he quickly catches it. He scans it, releasing a sigh of relief when no damages were found.

"Good thing you didn't drop that. I'd have to cut your salary. Or at least make you pay for another." Rouge playfully teases. The fox sweatdrops.

'_The bad part is that she probably would._' Tails thinks. His attention returns to Dr. Eggman. "Anywa-AHH!" The scientist is sitting in the chair in front of him, with his face, sporting a nervous and awkward look, giving the poor fox an up-close view.

"Relax Tails. I've only come for a drink," Dr. Eggman reassures him. The fox glares at him, distrust clearly in his eyes. In response, Eggman tells him, "You and Sonic ruined my plans the other day, and that left me in quite a gloomy mood. I thought coming here may cheer me up a bit, although I wasn't aware you worked here." A bit of Tails' hesitation disappears.

_'If he's telling the truth,'_ Tails considers._ '__I guess I can pour him drinks. He would be a customer, after all. But still, he might be up to something...'_

"Stop being harsh, kid," Rouge lightly orders him, adding a little flick to the fox's head. "So, can you pay?" Eggman nods and takes out a handful of Rings. "Good. Your order?"

"I'll have a glass of prune juice and a soft-bolied egg," Dr. Eggman answers. Tails and Rouge share a glance, but shrug it off. A customer gave an order, and they must follow through. Tails grabs the bottle of prune juice, which Rouge bought some reason, and the bat makes her way to the kitchen to prepare the egg. She returns no less than ten minutes later with the egg, finding Dr. Eggman hasn't touched his juice yet, and hands it to the doctor. "Thank you."

'_So he does have basic manners_,' Tails thinks. He gets back to work on cleaning the glasses, despite the uncomfortable silence filling the air after. Tails sees Rouge unaffected, merely admiring a jewel, he assumes, she had gotten during her little cooking session. Eggman, at last, finishes his drink, gets up, and makes his way to the door.

"Oh, Tails?" The doctor calls for him.

"Hmm?" The fox faces his direction.

"You do know you have to be 18 to be bartender, right?" Eggman then leaves with those parting words. Tails continues staring at the spot where the doctor stood not a few moments before.

"Right," Rouge says to herself. That snaps Tails out of his trance and he looks over to her. "That is the legal age." She places her jewel down on the counter if the bar and grabs the towel and wine glass from the fox. "Out the club, Fox-Boy. I don't want anything happening to my club because of you sticking around here." Tails unhappily nods in understanding and grudgingly leaves. The fox sighs, expressing his sorrow again.

"Where can I find some work now?"


	5. Master Emerald Guardian

With the Master Emerald behind his back, Tails waits patiently for the return of the real guardian. Although, his attention is more focused on finishing the blueprints lying in front of him and not on the giant jewel filled with unlimited power holding up the entirety of Angel Island. "Hmm, if this is going to work, I'll need a superconductor," Tails mumbles to himself. "That's going to cost a fortune though. No way Knuckles is going to pay that much just for this. I could use a Chaos Emerald, but they may be needed at a later time." The fox goes on with his plans, the neighboring Chao ignoring his announced thoughts.

Unfortunately, their cries of "Chao," isn't easily ignored. The fox musters all of his energy into blocking out the noise of the critters. The plan obviously fails, with about one hundred Chao now swarming the area, eating grapes off trees, picking flowers or just playing around. Worst of all, they're all saying "Chao," simultaneously.

"Is there a more quiet spot?" Tails wonders. "No wait, I can't leave this spot. The Master Emerald has to stay on this alter or else Angel Island will fall." Tails closes his eyes and plugs his ears with his fingers, thinking up solutions for his predicament. Too bad for him, the ones that do come to him involve him leaving his post. "Should've expected it," Tails sighs in defeat. "I guess I just have to put up with this" Tails pulls out a piece of mint candy and places it in his mouth, savoring each juicy taste he can get to distract him. "I hope Knuckles comes back soon."

**Three Hours Later**

Tails probably would have gone insane by now, and he did one hour earlier. He did learn a lesson though. '_Being around something like this for so long, you get used to it._' Tails muses. '_Also hard to believe that the Chao's voices don't break after saying their names for so much time._' He drops the subject of Chao in his mind. He may have obtained an acquired tolerance to them, but he certainly doesn't want to think about those critters anymore. Easier said than done, since he's long finished the blueprints, now left with nothing to do except guard the Master Emerald, but he's making an effort. '_I wonder what's taking Knuckles so long._'

"I'm back!" A voice calls from below the Master Emerald shrine. Tails perks up, and takes a look down the stairs leading to the shrine. There, Knuckles the Echidna is walking up.

"Knuckles!" Tails runs down the flight of steps to meet his friend, and ask the very important question. "What took so long?"

"Buying a full year worth of groceries takes a while," Knuckles answers. Cue sweatdropping Tails.

"I-I see."

"Anyway," Knuckles hands Tails handfuls of Rings. "Thanks for protecting the Master Emerald for me. You did do that right?"

"Of course," Tails nods. "Though it was kinda...tiring."

"I can understand that," Knuckles concedes. He makes his way up to the alter, Tails following. He inspects the Master Emerald. "Hmm..."

"Hey Knuckles?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you put up with the Chao?"

"Chao?" Knuckles repeats with an obvious 'what are you talking about?' face.

"Yeah!" Tails points to the Chao that are no longer there. "Those Cha-Huh? Where'd they go?"

**Moments earlier in Chao translation**

_"Hey, is that Knuckles?" One Chao said._

_"Oh no, it is!" Another answered fearfully. "Everyone run!" In mere seconds, all of the Chao flew away from the deadly echidna. _

**Present**

"I don't know what you're talking about Tails," Knuckles says. "But here you go." He places out his hand of Rings. Tails happily takes his pay.

"Thanks Knuckles!"

"Same to you Tails. Though remember that this was just temporary." With those departing words, Tails makes his way towards his Tornado and leaves the floating island. Though two questions come to mind.

"How did Knuckles get the back on Angel Island?" He thinks about it with only one solution coming to mind. He sighs in response to the idea. He mumbles, "Please don't let this plane crash." Now onto the more important question, which he asks aloud to no one in particular. Though he is thinking of Knuckles and his last words as he asks.

_Though remember that this was just temporary._

"Where can I find some work now?"


End file.
